I came across the link to the blog posting by Nitin on "Data Property Rights, Not Portability" referred by Chris Brogan. One little part from his posting:

...is not whether web app vendors "allow" me to take my data and go play elsewhere, but whether they "play fair" with my data when it's in the web app.

I agree overwhelmingly with this portion. However, he goes on to speak of exit and moving our data. I think that is too far out. Let me try.

I have an approach in my head, and it is one of the reasons I am part of the Data Portability working group. The ownership of data should always lay in the hands of the person, not the vendor. Here is the basis of my thought.

We spend far too much time populating profiles on numerous sites. Then along came the profile aggregators that I have reviewed many times on this site. So they attempt to pull all your meta-data or APML or whatever form into one interface for people to follow.

Then vendors build frameworks around this same data store to pull data

We authorize the vendors to access certain data parts as we see fit

They all pick some centralized authentication mechanism like OpenID (don't scream it is an example)

We then allow and disallow the who's and what's centrally

What is the added bonus for vendors? Well what they wrap it with and offer as services around my data. If I do not like what the vendor does with data or what services they offer, I don't spend time making another profile to find out. Or I do get involved and they change their path. No need to remove content I spent tons of time on, I simply remove their authorization and they cannot pull the data to make the interface for me any longer.

I know this simplifies things greatly, but we have to take a different approach then all the social network sites that pop up and try to be the next big thing. My data is the big thing and centralizing it is the mission.

On your first and second point, provided we call the data the same way, it doesn't really have to be all in the same place. Right? That's why we built the web: so we could attach storage and services from any point, provided we could address those points.

But as for making a system/process by which we dump everything in and then expose as we see fit, I totally love that. For instance, I want some people to see my financial info (eBay, my online bank, Amazon, etc). I want others to see my health info. I want MOST people to see neither of those.

Of course the thing is, those are two wicked scary things to store and allow vendors to poke around NEAR. So w have to figure out how we're going to deal with that, too.

Profile info? Fine. When we go a little further into other real-world data we want to store, scary. Or at least... less savory to contemplate the breeches.

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Yes this is a blatant theft of the outline that Jess uses on her page, but I asked permission. Why?? Because I am a hardcore admin and can make ugly tables to make you developers frustrated, but this was too nice to pass up.

Also Known As: Chris Miller (when awake)

Boring Certifications: (only because someone asked twice)

Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 - Team Collab and Messaging

Domino 7 Certified Security Administrator

PCLP ND7

PCLP ND6

PCLP R5

PCLP R4

CLP Collaboration (soon to be retired Aug 2006)

random former R4 exams

CLI for numerous admin areas including Domino, Sametime and Workplace

CLP Insane

Yes, I write some of those dreaded admin cert exams you take. I won't say which ones so you don't come looking for me, but I will
say they are the real good recent ones that have been coming out.

Weapons/Equipment:

At work an IBM 2 GHz

At home a plethera of 6 machines with various Windows versions and Red Hat on a wired/wireless LAN

A Toshiba E740 with 802.11b (yes geek toy)

An Apple 40GB iPod that is filled to the brim

Compaq RioPort MP3 player (now in storage)

An EBook (REB1100) also for travel (Love that darn thing)

Verizon and they always seem to know how to find me, damn cell

Animals:

One dog, a Pug. He has been on this world before and seems to understand slippers and a fine cigar. Mind you that is him in the chair and not me.

Let us now also add a deranged cat that is in the process of being toilet trained. Update: Toilet traning was very very close.

Music:

Non-stop. At my desk, in my car, walking to work and back to my car downtown. In the house there is a crazy zoned set-up for you home automation geeks.

I am a self-proclaimed MP3 fiend, to which I have tried rehab 4 billion times to no avail. Next is the MP3 hard-drive for the car that I found. Now what kind of music you ask? I will never tell.

Languages:

Incredibly fast English

Very slow Spanish

Emoticon-ese

Learning Korean

HTML

Advanced Sarcasm

Geek class special abilities:

Notes/Domino overdrive

Workplace

Sametime

Active Directory (huh? kidding)

Quickplace

LMS, LVC and the other L's of elearning

Windoze junk

MS Exchange versions

LAN

TCPIP

Server Iron

Yeah, yeah it goes on some

Skills:

Get back to you here

Spells:

Hershey’s Stomach of Holding: Jess and I are fighting over who eats more chocolate. TWDUFF can help me out and vouch for me.

Character Bio:

This will take far more time than I have today. I will start with I was born and still live in St. Louis, MO. Even though for a couple years I was never, ever here and always on the road, this is smack in the middle of the US. Everything is just a few hour flight. That part is nice. No beach/ocean/coast isn't the best. But with the travel I make up for it.